University Antics
by WordsComeInMyDreams
Summary: When Sami moves across the world to go to the University of Michigan at the age of sixteen, she never thought her life would be any different. But then she met her idols, and everything changed.
1. Chapter 1

I step off the plane into the warm mid-morning Michigan air and yawn. _That was the longest plane ride of my life. But it will all be worth it._ I unlock my phone to reveal two new messages.

**Hey Sami, text me when you get off the plane. Good luck! :) – Ben**

I walk down the runway following the other passengers in a line, the families clutching each other's hand, couples doing the same, business men grasping briefcases and wearing suits. The other text was from my service provider.

**Welcome to THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. We hope you enjoy your stay. Unfortunately our service does not work here. – O2 **

_Great. I need a new phone._ I decide to call Ben when I get to my boarding house and shove my phone into the pockets of my blue high-waisted shorts as I reach the entrance into the airport. The air hostess takes my passport and green card, inspecting them closely before scanning them and handing them over to me with a big grin.

"Enjoy it here mam!" I nod at her as a thank-you and pull my blue polka dot suitcase off the conveyor belt, pulling it along behind me out into the warm autumn air. I have a quick glance behind me at the Ann Arbor Municipal Airport, the red and orange bricked building and the silver writing beaming out at me. I smile in anticipation of what is to come as I hail a taxi. These are different to any I've ever seen; the cars bright yellow, making the white writing on the side reading 'TAXI CAB' stand out more. I climb in the back onto the plush black seats and pull the door closed. The driver turns and looks at me expectantly.

"Oh, er, 82 East Shore Drive please." He nods and faces the road again. _He seems… nice. I hope not everyone here's like that. _I take out my iPod and press shuffle, putting in my headphones and leaning back against the cold headrest. Little Things by One Direction comes on and I close my eyes, sinking into the rhythm and lyrics.

I feel someone shaking my shoulder, and my eyes open. I'm still in the taxi, and it's brighter outside. "Ma'am? We have arrived." He gives me a small smile. I smile back and climb out of the taxi, pulling my suitcase behind me as I give the taxi driver thirty dollars and a ten dollar tip. He gives me another smile as I shut the door and he speeds away, down the road. Turning round to face my new house, I gasp, and my suitcase drops from my hands, clattering onto the pavement. _Holy Musical Batman. _In front of me stands a white stone house, with three floors; curtains drawn in most of the windows. _It's bigger than my whole boarding house back home- well, school. _

The huge midnight black door swings open easily as I gently twist the brass handle.

I step inside, my pale pink Converse pad across the light wooden flooring as I pass the beige painted walls of the entrance hall, and amble down to the living room, looking into the other rooms as I pass. I see a pool through a pair of glass doors leading into the garden and grin in delight. I love swimming. I always have, ever since I was a little girl. I throw my suitcase onto the black leather sofa and jog up the stairs to check out the rooms. _I wonder which one's mine._My hand hovers over the doorknob, but I stop myself before I can open it. I wouldn't want people to look into my room, so I'm not going to look in anyone else's. I notice on every door, there's a small whiteboard with names on them. Joe, Nick, Jamie; no, Jaime. Except one door, where there's only one name. Lauren. Maybe that's my room. I turn back and run down the stairs and grab my iPod, notebook and a few of the books off my freshman reading list and walk out of the door, wanting to explore.

I wander the streets until a taxi drives towards me a little while later. I stick out my arm and it stops. The driver looks around my age, maybe a couple of years older and has curly dark brown hair, and sparkly green eyes.

"The north campus of the university please." I smile at the young driver.

"Sure!" he grins, revealing his deep dimples to me. I like this one. He's my favourite. He turns the radio up and sings along, his melodic voice ringing out in the car, and I join in.

"Beautiful like diamonds in the sky! Shine bright like a diamond!" The song finishes and we burst out laughing.

"You're really good!" he smiles. I snort in disbelief. "Seriously!"

"Well, thanks. You were too!" I reply. The car stops, as we arrive at the campus. I step out of the car and hand him the fare, but he hand it right back.

"It's on me." I shake my head rapidly.

"No I can't…"

"Yes you can." He cuts me off. "Just…do me a favour?" I nod in reply. "Text me?" he says as he hands me a piece of paper. I blush madly, my cheeks pillar box red.

"Sure." I say, and he grins at my accent then waves goodbye and I do the same, shutting the door lightly before he drives off.

I spin on my heels, taking in the iron gates; the sign above that reads: University of Michigan, the deserted campus grounds. Not a person in sight. You can almost see the dust bale rolling across the yard. _Quite depressing really. _Then I remember it's a Saturday. Everyone will be in their boarding houses. I wander across the yard and into the first door I see, into a building.

I pass classroom after classroom, looking in every one, but it's not what I'm looking for. I come out of the building and walk across a cut, into another one. I turn into the first room and gasp. Jackpot. The velvet black seats in rows, each one waiting to be occupied. The navy blue painted walls just like the ones in the cinemas back home and the stage. The shiny black varnsh, velvety red curtains, the scenery and props in the wings. _This is so much better than the one at my old school! _I run down the stairs into the auditorium and hop onto the stage, hugging my books to my chest. I sit in the middle and put my books down, except one: Jane Eyre. _I should really have got these sent over earlier. I'm behind, and school hasn't even started yet! Well, that's a new record. _I push my earphones into my ears and press play, diving (head first) into the world of Jane and her mysterious boss Mr Rochester.

After a while, my eyes start to get heavy and tired._ No Sami, you have to stay awake. Do not sleep. I repeat, do not slee…_


	2. Chapter 2

"There's someone there!"

"It's a girl!"

"No shit D. Is she dead?"

"I don't think so LoLo, just asleep. God, I'd hate to have to explain that to Principal Coleman."

"She's so tiny! She looks smaller than you Lo!"

"Shut it Joseph!"

The American accents bring me out of my slumber and I twitch. _Aww shit. I fell asleep. I really need_ _to start listening to myself._ The accents laugh. _Did I say that out loud? _

"Yes, yes you did." A girl's voice laughed. _That voice sounds kind of familiar. _I sigh, lift my head of the paper of my book and gasp. _Holy crap. Lauren Lopez, Darren Criss and Joey Richter_. I rub the sleep out of my eyes and blink. _Nope, they're still there._

"Yes, were still here." Joey said laughing. _Man, I've gotta stop doing that!_ I groan and stand up straight, throwing the book towards the side of the stage. Darren walks up to me and holds out his hand. I marvel at his sparkling hazel eyes as he stares into my own dark brown ones, straight into my soul. He grins as I shiver slightly. _Don't fangirl Sami, it doesn't tend to go down well with people._

"I'm Darren, and this is Lauren and Joey."

"I'm Sami, and I know." I reply, using my new and improved American accent as I shake his hand.

"Gleek or StarKid?" He chuckles.

"Both. But don't worry, I swear I'm not crazy." They laugh.

"Well, we didn't think you would be." Joey smiles his beautiful lop sided grin. Dear wizard God. I smile back, revealing my two deep dimples.

"Well, these days, you just never know." I walk round the stage, picking up my papers and books as I go and press them tightly to my chest. I go to the steps of the stage, and am about to run down them to leave when Darren speaks.

"Wait! I, well, we were wondering if you wanted to hang out with us, come to rehearsal? We're doing the sequel to AVPM in a few months?"

"Sure, that'd be cool. Thanks." I say, acting a lot cooler than I feel. Lauren bounds down the stage stairs and plants herself into one of the black velvet seats and gestures for me to sit in the seat next to her, and I do, placing my school stuff on top of the mahogany grand piano in the corner, resisting the urge to play it.

"So, tell us about yourself. What's your full name? Where are you from? How old are you? That sort of stuff." Darren says. _Do I tell them? Meh, why not, what they gonna do? They're hardly going to judge me, right? Right! _

"My full names Samia Elizabeth Bennett, but everyone calls me Sami. I'm sixteen years old, and I'm from London in England." I reply, dropping the American accent and using my real one. Lauren's jaw drops.

"Sixteen? Seriously?! Oh, and cool accent! Why were you using an American one exactly?" she yells surprised.

"Yep, seriously. Thanks, you too! Erm, it's kind of embarrassing, I thought you had to be American to come here, but then I realised it said 'International Student' on my transcript." I laugh.

"Oh! Yeah, we get quite a few international students here, but I've never met any English ones. But then, how is that possible? I mean, you being here?" she asks curiously. I chuckle. I knew this would come up sooner or later.

"Well, in England you finish secondary- I mean high school at sixteen. I'd got all the qualifications I needed to get a scholarship here, so I thought why wait two whole years until I'm eighteen, when I can just come now? So I packed my stuff, got on a plane and here I am!" They all nod their heads in understanding.

"So, what are you majoring in?" Joey pipes up. My nose crinkles in confusion and they chuckle at my expression.

"I'm sorry what?"

"What are you majoring in? Erm, your main subject? The one you spend the most time doing?" He laughs.

"Oh! Erm, I was thinking maybe theatre performance." I reply grinning. Lauren pokes one of my dimples and my smile widens. She laughs when my dimples deepen as my smile grows.

"Yeah? Us too! You any good?" Joey asks, seeming genuinely interested in my talents.

"I'm… okay I guess." I reply.

"Sing for us?" Darren questions. _Shit. I can't sing for them! What if they think I'm horrible?!_

"We won't!" Lauren smiles reassuringly I groan. _Why do I keep doing that?! _They start chanting.

"Sing! Sing! Sing!" I roll my eyes and am about to protest when voices coming from the doorway cut me off.

"What's going on guys? Who's this?" Jaime Lyn Beatty says, the rest of Team StarKid (apart from Darren, Joey and Lauren of course) behind her. _Oh my wizard God. Help me, I might faint. Oh, I'm sat down. Oh well. _

"I'm Sami. Nice to meet you! These guys are trying to get me to sing, because I just joined the University this term- I mean, semester and I'm thinking of majoring in theatre." I say quietly, still slightly star struck.

"Yep, what she said!" Joey grins.

"Nice accent!"

"Yeah, sing!"

"I'd love to hear you sing!" are the responses I get from the multiple people still stood in the door way, looking at me. I can feel their eyes burning into me. I rack my brain to try and find a legitimate excuse to get out of singing in front of them. _Bingo._

"I mean, I'd love to sing for you guys, but I need a guitar. You know, to play while I sing." I backtrack. I feel a bit guilty when their faces sink, but that subsides as Darren's eyes light up a few moments later.

"That's okay Sami, luckily I brought mine!" he pipes up. I fake a smile as my heart sinks all the way into my stomach.

"Yay." I say, trying to sound happy, but I'm pretty sure it sounded sarcastic, as Darren chuckled when he handed me the guitar. _I have to say, it's beautiful. The guitar, that is. _I perch myself on the edge of the stage and cross my legs one over the other, placing the dip of the guitar carefully over my thigh as the StarKids gather, sitting in the front row with Darren, Lauren bounces over to the piano to make room for them all. She hops onto the top, with a little help from Joey, and crosses her legs, staring intently at me and giving me an excited smile with thumbs up. I strum a few chords, just to get used to the guitar, and start to play one of my favourite songs: Fix You by Coldplay.

"**When you try your best, but you don't succeed  
When you get what you want, but not what you need  
When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep  
Stuck in reverse**

And the tears come streaming down your face  
When you lose something you can't replace  
When you love someone, but it goes to waste  
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home  
And ignite your bones  
And I will try to fix you

And high up above or down below  
When you're too in love to let it go  
But if you never try you'll never know  
Just what you're worth

Lights will guide you home  
And ignite your bones  
And I will try to fix you

Tears stream down on your face  
When you lose something you cannot replace  
Tears stream down on your face  
And I...

Tears stream down on your face  
I promise you that I will learn from mistakes.  
Tears stream down on your face  
And I...

Lights will guide you home  
And ignite your bones  
And I will try to fix you."

I look up as I strum the last chord, my wrist aching from the fast instrumentalin the middle of the song. Their faces frozen in…Shock? Horror? I have no idea. It's silent for a few moments, then Jaime stands up and cheers. This seems to bring the others out of their icy states and the follow suit. Darren whispers something to Jaime, who passes it on to Joe Walker who passes on down the line of StarKid's to Joey and Lauren who nod simultaneously.

"Sami?" Darren asks nervously. I look at him, silently telling him to go on. "We were, erm, just wondering if you wanted to maybe join us? StarKid I mean. We've been looking for a new recruit, since Bonnie left to become a teacher, and we know you have a beautiful voice. Now we just need to know if you can dance and act."

I stare at him in shock, my mouth forming a perfect O. Jaime strides over and closes my mouth gently. "You'll catch flies honey." She smiles kindly.

"So? What do you say Sami?" Lauren asks, her head tilted slightly to the side. _What do I think? Does she real__ly need to ask that?! _I breathe in deeply, then look around at them one by one, winking.

"I'll think about it."


	3. Chapter 3

They cheer loudly, starting to jump up and down when Lauren holds up her hand, making them freeze. I laugh at their positions and look into her dark eyes with my own, waiting for her to say something.

"Is that a yes?" She narrows her eyes playfully at me. I roll my eyes and nod.

"Yes, Lo, of course it's a yes!" She screams and launches her body towards mine, jumping and wrapping her arms round my neck and her legs round my waist, causing me to fall backwards and onto the cold, hard floor of the auditorium. _Now this girl isn't exactly heavy or anything, but she's taller than me and she did run at about 30 miles per hour. Okay, so I'm exaggerating, but it was fast!_

"Jeez Lo!" Joey yells. She just grins apologetically at me. I laugh and grin back, silently accepting her apology, then she peels her arms and legs away from mine and jumps up, holding her hand out to help me up. I take hold of it gratefully and she gently pulls on my arm, my body coming up with it.

"Well, you know what this means." Joe Walker states. The others nod their heads in agreement, but I shake mine, not understanding.

"Group hug!" Darren and Julia yell simultaneously. But before I can even stretch out my arms I'm clamped between bodies, some a foot or more taller than me. _And yes, Jim Povolo, I am talking about you. _They collectively squeeze the people on either side of them, moving ever closer into the middle; towards me. The air starts to leave my lungs, leaving me gasping desperately for oxygen.

"Hey, guys?" I croak. They all look down at me, including Lauren. "Can't breathe."

"Oh." Brian Holden gasps, and releases me, the others following his example. Finally the cool air of the auditorium is returned to my lungs, and I am able to breathe freely again.

Nick Lang claps his hands decisively and shouts: "Let the games begin! Walker, Dylan, you're up!"

Half an hour passes in a blur of introductions, joking and laughing with Lo, Darren and Joey, whilst a member of the cast sings. I spent a few minutes with Julia, while the others were getting their sheet music. She has to be one of the nicest people I've ever met; so full of love for everyone and everything. Matt Lang calls me over and gives me my sheet music for my solo song.

"The Coolest Girl. Nice. What key?" I ask tentatively.

"G. Is that okay?" He replies, unsure. I nod, my stomach filled with relief._ That I can do. _He pats my shoulder awkwardly, and gestures to me to get up onto the stage. I walk over to the stairs nervously, taking in the many faces of my new friends and colleagues. I stand in the middle of the stage, where the others had stood before me and gulp. _What the hell am I doing? I couldn't even audition for the school play or __speak in assembly a few weeks a__go, and now, here I am, stood on a stage in front of my idols, about to sing for them as part of their theatre company. What has changed since then? _

"Nothing has changed Sami. The more confident part of you has come up to the surface. You've grown as a person, and got braver. I mean, look at you, you moved halfway across the world, alone, and only sixteen years old. Anyone who is prepared to do that deserves to be recognised. And you will be." Julia says, rubbing calming circles into the small of my back. I didn't even realise she had come up here. I was too absorbed in my own thoughts.

"I really need to stop doing that. I'm sorry Julia." I whisper, as she pulls me in for a hug.

"I'm glad you did it. You should know, you can talk to any of us. We'll never judge you, and most likely we'll have been through something similar too. And don't be sorry, your part of this family now. Don't ever forget that, okay?" She whispers back. I nod, and she releases me, holding my face in her hands and looking at me sympathetically with her big blue orbs. "Oh, and you can call me Juls."

I smile gratefully at her and she pokes my dimples lovingly before jogging back down the stage steps and back onto her seat on the grand piano beside Lauren and Jaime. They give me reassuring smiles and I nod to the man on the piano: AJ I think his name is, and he begins to play the opening notes. I don't like how unfamiliar the song is, but I soon forget about it as the intro to the song ends and I start to sing.

"**All my dreams**

**I'm chasing after,**

**they don't need**

**all this laughter..."**

Now this part, I can relate with. All my life, my Aunt and Uncle shot down my dreams, sent me off to boarding school after my parents passed, never believing I could get here, and look at me now. So suck on that Aunt Alana.

**I take a grain of salt,**

**A stiff upper lip.**

**It's not their fault**

**I'm not as hip.**

**Wake up kid, you know you're more than this...**

**I'm the smartest person**

**that I've ever met.**

**So why do I allow myself to**

**possibly forget:**

**There's so much I know how to do,**

**so much more than all of you.**

**The only thing I wish I knew**

**was how to make them see**

**the girl that I can be...**

**I am**

**the coolest girl in the whole wide world**

**I know it**

**but can't show it at all.**

**I am**

**sick and tired**

**of low, not higher**

**places, where I should belong...**

**It's about time I proved them wrong...**

**Give me a shot**

**to show what I've got!**

**I'm a hell of a whole lot more**

**than this frizzy hair,**

**these frumpy clothes I wear,**

**though I rock 'em like nobody you've seen before!**

**'Cause I am**

**the coolest girl in the whole wide world**

**I know it**

**below it all.**

**I am**

**done with losin',**

**on with choosin'**

**The coolest girl on the face of the planet,**

**The coolest bitch on Earth, goddammit!**

**The coolest chick you've ever seen or heard!**

**So you can try to break me down,**

**but sorry guys, I'm stickin' around!**

**I've thought about it, and I've found**

**That I am**

**The coolest girl!**

**Yeah!"**

The StarKids clapped, just like at the end of everyone else's rehearsals, and I run back down the stairs into the arms of Juls, Lo and Jaime that were waiting for me.

"Hey!" Joey yells, as I leave to go to the loo after getting directions. I turn back to face him, and he grins while winking at me. "Welcome to StarKid, Granger." I spin round and walk out the door, shouting back as I'm halfway down the corridor, ignoring the butterflies that fill my tummy whenever he talks to me.

"Thanks Weasley." I can hear him laughing as I push open the door to the bathroom and can't help but giggle.

Two hours later, and Matt claps his hands, signalling the end of that day's rehearsal. I take my phone out of my pocket to check the time as my stomach rumbles loudly: 4:58pm. _Wow. No wonder I'm hungry. I haven't eaten in almost__ 20 hours. _

"Come on Sami Sam!" Lauren grabs my hand and pulls me out of the door, me barely having chance to grab my books and papers before we're out into the familiar corridor. I am pulled through winding corridors, a maze of different doors before finally coming out of the building at the other end I had come into hours ago. I face another huge playground and a car park big enough to fit nearly a thousand cars in._ I guess most people here drive to school. _

"Lo, where are we going?" I ask, confused as she pushes me into the passenger seat of a silver Volvo, Jaime, Juls and Joey climbing into the back seats. I look out of my window to see the various other StarKids climbing into three other cars; one black, one blue, one red.

"Back to our place, we're gonna order pizza and watch movies, you in?" She grins mischievously. I nod eagerly, wanting to know if their boarding house is anywhere near mine. _Oh, I really hope that it is! _

"It is what, honey?" Jaime leans over from the back seat to ask me. _Really, __again?_

"Oh, nothing, just thinking out loud, that's all Jaime." I reassure her, giving her my dimple-revealing smile. She smiles back in acceptance, and I tilt my body back to face the front of the car as Lauren starts up the engine, then lean back, sinking into the softness of the leather seats and closing my eyes, only to open them a few minutes later as the purr of the engine stops.

I lift my head up slowly to face out of the window on my left to find us parked outside a boarding house creepily similar to the one I was in this morning. _It couldn't be mine, could it? No, I mean, I guess they'll all look the same… right? _Pulling all my papers together into a pile and hugging them to my chest, I scramble out of the car and slip into line beside Lauren and Juls as we walk up the garden path. Lauren pats her pockets looking confused and Juls rolls her eyes playfully.

"Looking for something?" She teases Lauren, holding out a key in front of her face. Lauren glares jokingly and snatches the key form Juls hand, sliding it into the brass lock and grinning as the door clicks and then slides open. I step into the hallway and can't help but notice how the décor is identical to mine._ Weird_. I shuffle through into the living room, finding all the Starkids staring at something on the sofa.

"What is it guys?" I ask cautiously. They all look up, Lauren is holding a blue spotty suitcase up in the air.

"Erm, why is my suitcase on your sofa?"


End file.
